Fetus Liver, Spleen & Pancreas week sixteen (16)

The liver, gallbladder, and biliary duct system arise as a ventral outgrowth from the caudal end of the foregut early in the fourth week of development ,This outgrowth, known as the hepatic diverticulum, extends into the septum transversum, which is the future diaphragm. The hepatic diverticulum grows rapidly and divides into cranial and caudal portions. The larger cranial portion forms the primordium of the liver parenchyma. Proliferating endodermal cells develop into cords of hepatocytes and into the epithelial lining of the biliary system. References : 1-Netters atlas of human embryology (Updated Edition) . 2-the anatomy of human of embryo electron microscope( 1st Edition ) . 3- langman medical embryology( Fourteenth Edition ) .